Beaches and Rental Cars

We will be on the Pride of America April 26th sailing. We have an overnight in Maui and Kauai and we'd like to know if it's worth it to rent a car. We would like to know what is near the port and also where to rent the car. Also would like to know what is the beast beach on each island with calm water, bathrooms and a restaurant.

Also, in Kona we will be doing the seahorse excursion and will be done approximately at 1pm. Are there any beaches by the port or close enough where a taxi ride would be easy/cheap enough?

There is tons of info here on each island, and renting a car. For example, the "best" beaches on Maui are no way near the port, so renting a car is almost required to get to the real beaches.

"Worth it" is a judgment that can only be made by you. But if you read many of the posters experiences getting around, a car will be pretty self evident.

We will be on the Pride of America April 26th sailing. We have an overnight in Maui and Kauai and we'd like to know if it's worth it to rent a car. We would like to know what is near the port and also where to rent the car. Also would like to know what is the beast beach on each island with calm water, bathrooms and a restaurant.

 

Also, in Kona we will be doing the seahorse excursion and will be done approximately at 1pm. Are there any beaches by the port or close enough where a taxi ride would be easy/cheap enough?

You can rent a car on any island from the major rental chains. There are also smaller discount rental companies. Once you have your reservation, the procedure varies a bit from island to island, but basically there will either be a shuttle bus to meet the ship, or you can call for one. They will take you to the rental company and you will pick up your car. Remember to factor in the amount of time it takes to get back to the rental location, and shuttle back to the pier on your return, bearing in mind that a lot of other cruisers will likely be returning cars at about the same time.

On Maui, the car rental shuttle buses meet the ship at the dock, and take you to the airport rental offices, which are not far from the pier.

On Kauai, there may be rental offices near the port, but we're renting from Lihu'e airport, which isn't far. Supposedly we can call for a shuttle bus when we land.

Worth it? Well, based on my research (we are leaving on the POA this Saturday), rental cars are really about the only way to do serious touring or reach some of the better beaches on most of the islands. We are renting a car in every port, but I'd definitely say it would be worth it to rent one in the two overnight ports, Maui & Kauai.

If you are going to rent a car, make your reservation early. The pool of rental cars isn't that big, and you're also competing with other tourists staying at the resorts on each island.

There are beaches in and near Kona, and I'll defer to someone who's been there to give you an answer about those. You can also search for information here.